Contemporary art trends and news from Asia and beyond

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Art Radar Asia News conducts original research and scans global news sources to bring you selected topical stories about the taste-changing, news-making and the up and coming in Asian contemporary art.

The first four days featured lectures and slide shows by some of India’s best known contemporary artists. For the first day Bharti Kher whose work encompasses sculpture, paintings and installations, delivered her talk. Her featured works tackled the topic of “traditional vis-à-vis modern” while at the same time explored the issues of feminism, class, identity and race.

The third day was for Raqs Media Collective, a group of three media practitioners – Jeebesh Bagchi, Monica Narula and Shuddhabrata Sengupta. In addition to their degrees in Mass Communication, the trio has extensive experience when it comes to curating exhibitions and planning events, as well as working with various writers, architects and directors that have greatly contributed to the contemporary art of India.

Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra’s collaborative work in several diverse media such as painting, sculpture, video and fashion have also been well-received.

The event was an interactive and absorbing series inviting guests, students, critics and art lovers to explore more than the usual two or three-dimensional way of experiencing art. Talks from the artists themselves provided an insight into artistic creation and people from different areas of the industry provided another kind of perspective in viewing the works and Indian art in general.

The National Lalit Kala Akademi and its Chandigarh chapter, the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi are institutions established for the promotion and preservation of the fine arts of India.

Francis Newton Souza's Imbecile Girl in a Green Blouse (1957) will be on sale in Saffronart's summer auction 2010. Its estimated price is USD275,000-350,000.

A recent article published on livemint.comby the Wall Street Journal reported a rising trend of speculators’ confidence in the Indian art market, possibly as a result of a rebound in valuations of Indian artworks.

The article used the data in the latest report by London-based art market research firm ArtTacticto show that speculators’ confidence in the Indian art market is on the rise, after its significant drop in May last year as a result of the global art market downturn.

“The ArtTactic Speculation Barometer for Modern Indian Art shows a 28% increase since October 2009, and is now at 6.3, up from 4.9. This is the highest reading since ArtTactic started its survey in May 2007,” the article reported.

“In my reading of the Indian context, most collectors who entered the market over the last five-seven years were keen speculators.” Arvind Vijaymohan, Head of Indian arts advisory Japa Arts Pvt. Ltd (as quoted on livemint.com)

“…Vijaymohan says that in the current situation, there exists a section of speculators who consider this the perfect time to enter the market, and acquire works of modern Indian art at low values.” http://www.livemint.com

“For Anders Petterson, managing director of ArtTactic, the most revealing aspect of the report is the speed of the recovery in the modern art market even though it raises the threat of speculative buying.” http://www.livemint.com

“The Modern Indian Confidence Indicator is 51% higher than the equivalent confidence indicator for contemporary art. The report reasons that the established nature of the modern Indian market has created a sense of “safe haven” for many art buyers, a fact that is leading to its expansion.” http://www.livemint.com

Reena Kallat (1973) is one of the best-known Indian contemporary artists today. In this Art Radar Asia exclusive interview she discusses her influences, artists she admires, the contemporary art scene and the painstaking techniques used to create her renowned rubber stamp portraits.

Kallat has shown her work in many prestigious institutions including the Saatchi Gallery and Mori Art Museum in Japan.

Reena Kallat, Synonym, 2007

Where were you born, brought up and schooled?

I was born in Delhi, although I was brought up in Mumbai all through my growing years where I went to school, followed by my training at Sir J.J. School of Art.

What have been major influences in your life and art?

If I had to think of one person who influenced my life tremendously, it would have to be my mother who helped inculcate several interests at an early age. Although she died when I was young, her absence continued to influence my life in more ways than one.

How long does it take to produce an artwork? What kind of space do you work in?

I like working on multiple ideas at the same time and these could be at different stages of completion. Sometimes they collectively spark off unexpected adaptations. Most are kept fluid and provisional over a period time to see if they spawn into meaningful works.

My studio is on 2 levels, ground and first floor. I usually make work on the lower level and have my books to read, write or sketch on the upper level which allows me the space and sometimes necessary distance between conceiving an idea and realizing it.

We have been to the Saatchi show in London several times, and noticed that your art displayed there has been deeply influenced by historical events. How does history especially that of India, inspire you?

I think it is almost impossible to not be influenced either consciously or unconsciously by the richness of India’s vast cultural landscape through its architecture, film, crafts, dance, theatre. As we know, India has had long phases in its history of harmonious co-existence among divergent ethnic groups and communities, however in the recent past its political history has been tainted by divisive politics being played out, causing fissures amongst people. At times my work can be a comment or a critique but what interests me is that space in-between the factual and the fictional, of the sometimes harsh realities and the tender aspirations or dreams for a better future.

Could you please tell the story of how your Synonym (2007) came about? Why did you create it? How was it made?

My interest in using rubberstamps as a medium grew out of its use within official purposes and it’s associations with bureaucracy. I first started using them in 2003. I think of each name on the rubberstamp as being representative of an individual amidst hundreds of faceless people in this vast ocean of humanity. The sources of reference for the names often provide meaning or give context to the different bodies of works made.

In case of the Synonyms I chanced upon the list of names, out of official police records of those who’ve gone missing in India, through a friend who was looking for someone missing. The work stands like a screen holding up portraits formed by several hundred names of people rendered in scripts of over 14 Indian languages. From a distance they come together as portraits, but up-close they almost seem like a circuit-board of rubberstamps. These are people who seem to have slipped out of the radar of human communication, thrown off the social safety net.

Making these works is a slow process but one that throws up sometimes unexpected and startling results. I first draw out the silhouette of the portrait on plywood, then arrange the wooden pieces that comprise the rubberstamps. After painting the portrait on the uneven surface of the rubberstamps, the names are pasted and inked. These pieces are then transferred onto the Plexiglas where some additions and omissions lend the portrait its final character.

Reena Kallat, Synonym, 2009

What are your future plans? Exhibitions?

I am toying with a bunch of ideas at this point, some of which are slowly taking shape in the studio while there are practical glitches in case of others that make the process equally challenging as it is exciting. Amongst some of the exhibitions I’m now making new work towards are for the Helsinki City Art Museum, Castel Sant Elmo in Naples later this year and the Kennedy Centre in Washington, scheduled early next year.

What are your thoughts on the contemporary Indian art scene in both the Indian and international contexts?

I think post independence it has taken a long time for India to find its place in the larger global context in most fields. Contemporary Indian Art has experienced a steady growth over the last few decades with contributions and efforts from previous generations of artists, writers, critics into developing the scene before its meteoric rise, largely attributed to the commercial success it was gaining. Given the collective vibrancy and sheer robustness of the Art being produced here, I think individual artists from India will increasingly be seen to be significant contributors to the global Art scene.

In the absence of the state’s responsibility in contributing to improve and enhance the infrastructure around Art, whether it is at the university level or at the institutional level, the private sector in India has played an important role. However there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to try and increase the presence of Art in the larger public consciousness.

Saffronart is hosting a series of invaluable art historical documentary interviews with leading Indian artists to broaden the discourse about the evolution of modern and contemporary Indian art. The imaginative use of new interactive podcast technology is an initiative to emulate by both for-profits and non-profits.

The second interview in the speaker series is to celebrate a retrospective by Krishen Khanna at Rabindra Bhavan, the Lalit Kala Akademi, in New Delhi, which lasted from 23 January to 5 February 2010. In it Krishen Khanna talks about his inspirations for painting and experiences regarding the development of modern Indian art.

Khanna, Bandwallaas in Practice, 2002

He begins with a personal ancedote about how he became involved in India’s art scene in the 1950s: he was formerly a banker, but his wife encouraged him to quit his job and take up painting. and discusses the artists (including F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain) involved in Progressive Artist Group.

He mentions specific shows, such as Souza’s 1953 show containing a frontal nude self-portrait, which shocked the public and drew the attention of the moral police. Khanna emphasises Souza’s diverse inspirations, which ranged from Hokusai and Picasso.

Khanna, In My Studio, 2008

Khanna also places the Progressive Artist Group into a historical context: he discusses the exodus of artists from India after it won its independence and how major events, like the death of Gandhi, affected Indian artists globally. He then answers personal questions involving both his participation in the Progressive Artist Group and his relationship with its members.

Using a technique that we have not seen before the 30 minute audio is organised into searchable snippets under the following categories: Souza’s Solo Show, News of Ghandi’s Death, Progressive Artists’ Group, Nationalism in Art, The Form in Art and Drawing and Painting.

Each year, Sotheby’s Institute of Art – Singapore organises a number of overseas trips to major art centres, exhibitions, museums and collections in Asia. These visits are held in conjunction with the Master’s degree programmes in Art Business and Contemporary Art, and participants are taught alongside full-time international students.

Led by art experts from the region, each trip exposes the participants to the experience of art and objects in their historical context as well as provides an insight to the development of art in the region. Scheduled to coincide with key events and festivals, participants visit the major art centres in Asia, attend special talks by gallery directors, dealers and art professionals.

• USA: New York
Travel dates: 2-6 February 2009 (to coincide with the Mumbai Arts Festival)
Travel dates: March 2009 (to coincide with The Armory Show)

Fees
The fee for all courses is SGD 4,500 (inclusive of GST). The fee covers all lectures, local transport, some meals, and admission to art galleries, events and museums. Participants are required to pay for their own airfare and accommodation. Discount 50% for 2nd person.

This one-week course will explore the work of artists from East Asia, India, and the Middle East. The lectures will also investigate the key players in the market for Asian Art, as well as opportunities for growth in key regions.

Fee: £550 inclusive of visits and champagne reception.

Timetable:

Monday, 21 July
China
09.30-09.45 Registration and Coffee
09.45-10.00 Welcome
10.00-11.00 Influences in Chinese Art
11.30-12.30 The Cultural Revolution: the Birth of A New Iconography
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 Chinese Contemporary Art from 1980 to Present
15.00-16.00 Chinese Painting in the 21st Century
16.00-18.00 Visit to Qiu Jie exhibit at the Red Mansion Foundation

Tuesday, 22 July
The Middle East
10.00-11.00 Islamic Art and its Influences
11.30-12.30 The Diaspora and Questions of Identity in Middle Eastern Contemporary Art
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 Highlighting Iranian Art
15.00-16.00 Building a Heritage in the 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities
16.00-18.00 Visit to the exhibit ‘Mitra Tabrizian: This is that Place’ at Tate Britain

Wednesday, 23 July
India and Pakistan
10.00-11.15 Indian Contemporary Art – A Brief Introduction
11.30-12.30 Influences and Aesthetics of Indian Artists Working Abroad
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30Success stories from India: Souza, Husain and Gupta
15.00-16.00 The Lahore Group Impact on Pakistani Art
16.00-18.00 Visit to a Private Collection / Gallery / or Museum

Thursday, 24 July
Korea and Japan
10.00-11.00 An Introduction to Korean Art, from Pyongyang to Seoul
11.30-12.30 Contemporary Korean Artists in Focus
12.30-13.30 Lunch
13.30-14.30 Japanese Art Today: Beyond Murakami
15.00-16.00 Cultivating Craftsmanship: The Role of Living National Treasures
16.00-18.00 Visit to a Private Collection / Gallery / or Museum

USA EXHIBITION INDIAN ARTUNTIL DECEMBER 7 2008Multiple Modernities: India, 1905-2005 (on view at Philadelphia Museum of Art June 14 – Dec. 7, 2008 consists of more than 25 drawings, prints and watercolor paintings produced by South Asian artists before and after the region’s independence and subsequent partition into India and Pakistan.

The exhibition illustrates the range of artistic traditions and experiments in visual culture that emerged as South Asia transformed from a British colony to independent nation-states to a world economic power.

Many of South Asia’s preeminent artists of the past century are represented. Jamini Roy (1887-1972), for example, looked toward regional eastern Indian folk traditions for his simplified forms and bold, flat colors.

One of the most significant individuals in the fight for cultural regeneration was Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), who collaborated with a group of artists and intellectuals to launch what has been called the “Bengal Renaissance.” A writer, educator, and Asia’s first Nobel laureate (Literature, 1913), Tagore did not focus on visual art until he was well into his 60’s. The exhibition includes a rare and never-before-displayed group of seven of his imaginative and enigmatic drawings and paintings from the Museum’s collection.

The Progressive Artists Group in Bombay, formed in 1948 and disbanded a few years later, searched for their individual artistic voices, rather than solely a national vision. Its members and associates included some of the major artists who shaped modern India, such as F.N. Souza, M.F. Hussain, and Tyeb Mehta, all represented in this exhibition.

During the 1960s and 70s, a younger generation modeled in part on the Progressives renewed their search to infuse art with powerful individuality. Their variety of voices is evident in works including Bhupen Khakhar’sShame (after 1983) and Gieve Patel’sDead Politician (1972).

Representing the latter half of the 20th century a recently acquired collage-lithograph by Atul Dodiya is on show. Based on a minor episode in the great Hindu epic Ramayana, Sabari with her birds (2005) explores the power of faith through the tale of a tribal woman who spends her life alone in the forest preparing to encounter God. The work is part of a series inspired by three paintings by Indian artist Nandalal Bose (1882-1966), whose retrospective will be on display concurrently in the Museum.

“ Multiple Modernities offers an unusual opportunity to appreciate the breadth of South Asian art from the 20th century, and gives insights into the challenges that artists confronted in developing both a national identity and authentic personal voices,” Darielle Mason, the Stella Kramrisch Curator of Indian and Himalayan Art, said.

Hot Indian artist Subodh Gupta shows gigantic sculptural group Gandhi’s Three Monkeys (2008 Nature Morte Gallery) in the public square outside the main fair. “Contemporary Indian art is tipped to be the next major art world trend, with Gupta fast becoming an art market darling” say TimesOnline June 3 2008. Gupta will show his monumental sculptures at Saatchi’s new gallery in Chelsea next year.

INDIA The Indian art market is going through a major transformation, where the market’s focus has shifted from modern Indian art to contemporary Indian art.

According to a report this month by ArtTactic, an art market research service which provides analysis and advice for art collectors, art professionals, art institutions and art funds, its contemporary art market Confidence Indicator now stands 20 per cent higher than the indicator for the modern art market. However, recent auction results show that there is still strong demand for the right period works by a selected number of modern Indian artists such as FN Souza, MF Husain, VS Gaitonde, Ram Kumar and SH Raza.

Western museums and private collectors have started to take a strong interest in what is happening in India at the moment. This will continue in 2008, with exhibitions planned at the Serpentine Gallery, the Saatchi gallery, the Mori Art Museum, as well as the current exhibition “Passage to India” at Initial Access, the space recently opened by UK collector Frank Cohen.

According to the ArtTactic Indian Art Market Confidence Survey, the overall Indian art market confidence indicator fell 13 per cent from the last reading in October 2007.

The indicator has been hit by a 54 per cent drop in both the current and future confidence in the economy. With India’s inflation surging to a more than three-year high, with global financial markets in decline and with crude oil prices rising, the economic prospect looks less promising than six months ago. And as the economic component of the confidence indicator carries a 33 per cent weighting in the overall Indian Art Market Confidence Indicator, the significant loss in confidence weighs heavily on the overall results.

However, despite the fall in overall ArtTactic Indian art market confidence, both the confidence levels in the modern and contemporary market increased significantly: up 17 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

After the slowdown that started at the beginning of 2007, where the modern Indian art market experienced a 38 per cent drop in annual auction volume compared with the record year of 2006, the modern Indian art market is now regaining some of the lost confidence.

The ArtTactic Indian Modern Art Market Confidence Indicator is up 27 per cent from the last reading in October 2007, and while the survey respondents are less positive about the near future of the Indian contemporary market, the “expectation indicator” for the modern art market stands 23 per cent higher than the “present indicator”, showing the modern art market could be about to regain some of the ground that it recently lost.

The ArtTactic Indian Market Confidence Indicator was launched in May 2007. It is derived from polling 81 respondents, including curators, collectors, dealers, galleries and auction houses operating in the Indian art market.